I was thinking about what could trip us up, now that FA is largely behind us -- something you already addressed a few newsletters ago:
1. We miss K9 in the backfield too much. The counter to that is our OL steadily improved through the year and was quite strong if not dominant in the playoffs. So if that improvement carries over, maybe a "lesser" RB gets it done
2. Shahid doesn't earn his big contract. But we have Tory Horton and hopefully a healthy Arroyo adds some wrinkles
3. Opposing offenses start figuring out MacDonald's Rubiks Cube. Could argue McVay already has, w/Rams putting up near 500 yds/game or more, twice, and Nacua going nuts in our secondary -- and maybe the Bucs too. But we won or could have won all those games
4. Injuries. Saw somewhere we had the 4th fewest salary-adjusted lost snaps
Injuries feels like the only variable somewhat out of our control. I say "somewhat" because with the depth we have, MacDonald can rest an injured player an extra week and not make it worse.
Is this really the case? If so, is reason to be optimistic.
We have MM running the show. I think one thing you can control is bringing out the best in players. You’re right about injuries. We can’t repeat if Darnold, JSN and Murphy (etc) suffer major injuries, but we can maintain the same single mined focus and effort from the players and I believe the coaches and team leaders are the ones who can set that tone and bring back that focus and effort. It was there in OTAs last year with 100% attendance in non mandatory practices. And it was there all season. The same leaders will be there this year, the same coaches. Andy Reid and Bill Belichick set the tone, and those teams had players who set the examples. It can be done! We have a very solid shot at it.
tbh I've been tired of how Seahawks fans treat 2014.
If you are only happy when your team wins it all you're setting yourself up for misery and you're missing the point: to be entertained and have fun. If you are attached to a specific outcome you're going to be miserable and angry--also, possibly, mean. There are, you know, whole religions based around recognizing how bad that is for you and trying to move away from that way of looking at things.
Instead, why not enjoy how incredibly fun and exciting that season was and how awesome it was to have our team come that close to one of the biggest achievements in all of sports?!
The former attitude is what makes a lot of other fans and a lot of other sports media besides SSJ tedious and annoying to me. I would have quit watching football if I'd maintained the former attitude because it wouldn't have been worth it. Instead I enjoy football whether my team wins or loses (though *more* if they win)!
I was thinking about what could trip us up, now that FA is largely behind us -- something you already addressed a few newsletters ago:
1. We miss K9 in the backfield too much. The counter to that is our OL steadily improved through the year and was quite strong if not dominant in the playoffs. So if that improvement carries over, maybe a "lesser" RB gets it done
2. Shahid doesn't earn his big contract. But we have Tory Horton and hopefully a healthy Arroyo adds some wrinkles
3. Opposing offenses start figuring out MacDonald's Rubiks Cube. Could argue McVay already has, w/Rams putting up near 500 yds/game or more, twice, and Nacua going nuts in our secondary -- and maybe the Bucs too. But we won or could have won all those games
4. Injuries. Saw somewhere we had the 4th fewest salary-adjusted lost snaps
Injuries feels like the only variable somewhat out of our control. I say "somewhat" because with the depth we have, MacDonald can rest an injured player an extra week and not make it worse.
Is this really the case? If so, is reason to be optimistic.
We have MM running the show. I think one thing you can control is bringing out the best in players. You’re right about injuries. We can’t repeat if Darnold, JSN and Murphy (etc) suffer major injuries, but we can maintain the same single mined focus and effort from the players and I believe the coaches and team leaders are the ones who can set that tone and bring back that focus and effort. It was there in OTAs last year with 100% attendance in non mandatory practices. And it was there all season. The same leaders will be there this year, the same coaches. Andy Reid and Bill Belichick set the tone, and those teams had players who set the examples. It can be done! We have a very solid shot at it.
tbh I've been tired of how Seahawks fans treat 2014.
If you are only happy when your team wins it all you're setting yourself up for misery and you're missing the point: to be entertained and have fun. If you are attached to a specific outcome you're going to be miserable and angry--also, possibly, mean. There are, you know, whole religions based around recognizing how bad that is for you and trying to move away from that way of looking at things.
Instead, why not enjoy how incredibly fun and exciting that season was and how awesome it was to have our team come that close to one of the biggest achievements in all of sports?!
The former attitude is what makes a lot of other fans and a lot of other sports media besides SSJ tedious and annoying to me. I would have quit watching football if I'd maintained the former attitude because it wouldn't have been worth it. Instead I enjoy football whether my team wins or loses (though *more* if they win)!